~ I like the unusual among the usual and, if possible, I enjoy photographing things that make me and others smile.

A lot has been written on the best moment for a photo – aptly coined by Henri Cartier-Bresson as “The Decisive Moment”. I don’t want to get into a philosophical discussion or on the general validity of the term. Here I just want to present two photos that I am not only very happy with but also capture a fleeting moment that may not have been there ten or thirty seconds later.

The first picture was taken just before Nuremberg main railway station. I’d already taken a few pictures before this one but the position of the people caught my eye. Everyone is preoccupied with something. One man is watching who is coming up the path. A second man is most probably rolling a cigarette. A third is drinking from a bottle. A woman is for whatever reason touching her face and being embraced at the same time by another woman.

The idea for the second picture occurred to me at least 30 seconds before I took it. A man on the train and someone outside his window are eating something from a kiosk. The best would have been had I taken the shot when both were biting into whatever it is they are eating. In the end one was chewing and the other biting. You can’t have everything.

The reader is invited to say whether these pictures fulfil the category of a “decisive moment”?!

Depending on the country and region, Easter is celebrated in different ways. In the part of Germany I live there is a tradition of decorating fountains with coloured eggs. In addition, you also see trees or bushes decorated in much the same way. In contrast to a few decades ago, these eggs are now longer made from real egg shells and hand painted but made of plastic and shop bought.

The first picture was taken in a garden I will be photographing in about four weeks time. In summer it is full of flowers and is adorned with various works of art.

The second picture shows the more typical variety you see just behind the front gate. As the cat watched me with interest and also put herself into the frame, I could resist including her.

Finally a picture that shows what someone has done in their back garden which backs on to the path next to the local railway station. As you can see, the thermometer is real and it is only 8C. Yes, this Easter is going to be remembered for the continued use of a heavy coat, scarf, gloves and a wooly cap …

I am always on the outlook for a good picture and usually take my camera (or cameras) wherever I go. Although I usually have a Fuji XT1 or Fuji XE1 with me, I am not married to that brand or any other for that matter. I am also prone to picking up my Nikon D800 with a 28-300mm zoom when I want a quick and good result. The advantage of the Fujis are their weight and the results are generally very good.

I also like film cameras and, to be honest, I have too many of them. The ones I like most are my Voigtländer Bessa R2A and my Zeiss Ikon ZM. Both have Zeiss lenses on them whose quality is excellent. From time to time I put one of them on a Fuji camera and am never short of being amazed as to how good they are.

So lets start with a couple of pictures. The first one was taken next to the railway line in Burgthann. The gardens that back off to the path are interesting and have avid gardeners.

The second photo is of a house being built on a new housing estate near to where I live. Leaving aside whether you like its style or not, the chimney is certainly worth a second look. It is so obviously a metal chimney on to which a brick pattern has been stuck. It looks so silly and out of place that it is worth a photo!